Electrically-controlled releasing device.



"Nasr/6,036.

PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908.

R. P. BARNES. ELETRICALLY OONTROLLED RELEASING DEVICE.

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INVaNTmR APPLICATION FILED APRJ, 1907.

RALPH F] EIARNEE Ufa RALPH P. BARNES, OF SOHENECTADY, NEW YORK.

ELE C TRICALLY-CONTROLLED RE LEASING DEVICE Speeicatonrof LettersPatent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1908.

Application tiled April 1| 1907. Serial No. 365.772.

T o all whom 'it may concern:

. Be it known that l, RALPH P. Barinas, a citizen of the United States,residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrically ControlledReleasing Devices, ol which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of de-A vices which are adapted to becontrolled 'from a distance to release horses from their stalls, unlockdoors, or the like 3 such devices either serving as the securing meansfor the thing to be released or else operating simply to control someother securing means 5 and the object of my invention is to produce sucha device which shall be simple and compact in construction, neat inappearance, and quick and reliable in operation.

To the above end my invention comprises a novel construction andarrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and pointed out withparticular-ity in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side eleva-tion oi' a panelhaving mounted thereon a device constructed in accordance with apreferred form of my invention, the parts being in locking positions;Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, the parts being, however, in theirreleasing positions; Fig. 3 is a view looking toward the left in Fig. 2;and Fig. 4 is a view looking upward in Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a flat metal bracket mounted upona panel 2 of wood or other material.

3 is a bolt slidably mounted in guides 4 and 5 secured to the bracket.The bolt may be operated to set the device by means of the handle 3u.

6 and 7 are tension springs arranged on opn posite sides of the bolt andconnected at one end to a cross-bar S carried at the inner end of thebolt. At their other ends the springs are secured to the panel. `When`tree to do so, the springs draw the bolt inward until it rests upon astop 9 secured to or 'forming part of the bracket. To the outer end ofthe bolt is attached one end of a chain or cable 10 which is connectedin any suitable way to the lock or catch which is to be released uponthe operation oi the bolt.

l prefer to control the locking ol the bolt in a position wherein it isout Ol engagement with the stop by means oi' an electromagnet which mayreadily be energized or denergized by pressing a push-button or openingor closing a switch in any manner at point .which may be lar removedfrom the panel. '.lherel'orel l have devised an arrangement oi partswhereby the bolt may be securely held out of engagement with the stopagainst the tension olt the strong actuating springs by means of a smallelectromagnet, while at the same time a quick and sure release iscllected upon the operation ol the controlling switch. An arrangement olthis character which has operated very satisfactorily in practice isshown on the drawing, 11 being the magnet which is illustrated as beingdouble and having its two cores rigidly se cured at one end to a 'ilange12 on the bracket.

Thus, when the bracket is made of magnetic material, it serves not onlyas the supporting means for the magnet but also as part ol the magneticcircuit thereol". r.lhe magnet is preferably, but not necessarily,arranged to operate on closed circuit and this is the l'orm in which itis illustrated. ln Fig. 1 l have shown conventionally a battery 13 and anormally closed switch 14 which respectively supply the current andcontrol the circuit through the magnet.

15 is the armature of the magnet and 16 is a spring which tends to drawit out ot the 'lield olE the magnet.

17 is a hook pivoted at 1S on the guide plate a and engaging normallywith a pin 19 .arried by the bolt and having a loose sleeve 2Osurrounding it. One end of the hook is pivoted to one end of a toggle 21which is in turn pivotally secured at its other end, as at 22, to thebracket. W'hen the toggle is straightened as shown in Fig. 1, the hookis locked in the position wherein it engages with the sleeved pin on thebolt to hold the bolt in its outermost position against the tension ofthe springs. A bell-crank lever 23 is pivotally secured to the bracket,as at 24, at one side of the toggle. One arm ot the lever extends towardthe toggle and has a cam 25 which lies directly beneath the joint ol thetoggle, Then the lever is oscillated, the cam engages with the toggleand presses the center slightly out ol alinement with the pivots at theends. '.lliereupon, the rigid support for the hook being removed, andthe hook being slightly oscillated, the actuating springs tor the bolt,

operating through the bolt, force the hook laterally and completely outof engagement with the sleeved pin. The bolt is now free position whenfree to do so.

The magnet, controls the' hook, through the mechanism just described, bymeans oi a lug 27 on the armature; this lug normally resting under a lug28 on the free arm of the bell crank lever and holding the lever insuch' position that the cam allows the toggle to be straightened. Thelugs 27 and 2S register only when the armature is `drawn against the endof the magnet, so that, when the magnet is denergized and the spring 16draws the armature outward, the lug 27 is moved from under the lug onthe lever and the actuating spring Jfor the lever becomes free tooscillate it and thereby break the joint of the toggle; whereupon thebolt is released and withdrawn in the manner previously described.

To set the device, the lever 23 is moved from the position indicated inFig. 2 to the normal position shown in Fig. 1. 1f the switch 14 is inits normal position, so that the magnet is energized, the lever will belocked in the position to which it has been moved. The bolt 3 may thenbe actuated against the tension of the springs, and the toggle leverstraightened until the hooks 17 and the member 19 on the bolt arebrought into locking engagement with each other so as to hold the boltin the position shown in Fig. 1. The device is now ready to operate inthe manner previously described upon the deenergization of the magnet.

It will be seen that by reason of the peculiar construction andarrangement of parts illustrated and described, a neat, compact,powerful and reliable releasing device is prohook in place when the twomembers of the toggle are brought into alinement with each other, apivoted cam lever arranged to engage with the toggle and break the jointthereof so as to trip the hook, an actuating spring for the cam lever,an electromagnet, and an armature for said electromagnet having ashoulder for holding the cani lever in its inoperative position againstthe tension of its actuating spring.

2. A releasing device consisting of a iiat bracket, a spring actuatedbolt slidingly mounted on said bracket, a locking hook for said boltpivoted to said bracket, a toggle pivoted at one end to the hook and atthe other end to the bracket, the toggle when straightened beingsubstantially at right angles to the stem of the hook, a cam leverpivoted to the bracket at one side of the toggle, a spring for operatingsaid cam lever to break the joint of the toggle, and an electromagnetrigidly supported by the bracket for normally holding said cam lever inan inoperative position against the tension oi the operating spring.

In witness whereof, AI have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of March,1907.

RALPH l). BARNES.

lVitnesses y EDWARD WILLIAMS, Jr.. LLOYD C. BUSH.

